SMALL CHEESE TRAY RECIPES

Steps:

• To make the croquetas, melt the butter in a medium saucepan and gently fry the onion for 3 mins or until lightly coloured. Stir in the flour and cook for 30 secs. Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly, and cook over a low heat for 5 mins until thick and glossy. Stir in the ham, cheese, mustard and cream, and season to taste. Cook for 1 min more until the cheese melts, stirring constantly.
• Pour into a bowl and cover the surface with cling film to stop a skin forming. Leave to cool, then chill for 4 hrs or overnight - the mixture needs to be very stiff to form the croquetas. Take heaped teaspoons of the mixture and, with wet hands, roll into 24 small oval shapes and put on a tray. Beat the eggs in a shallow bowl, put the flour on a plate and half of the breadcrumbs in a bowl.
• Roll each of the croquetas lightly in flour, then in egg before coating in breadcrumbs. Place on a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Use the remaining breadcrumbs to top up the bowl halfway through the coating process. Chill for 30 mins (or to freeze, see tip, below left).
• Meanwhile, make the tomato chilli jam. Put all the ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Cover loosely with a lit and cook for 50 mins - 1 hr, stirring occasionally, until thick and glossy. Leave to cool before serving.
• Fill a large saucepan one-third full with the sunflower oil and heat to 180C (or heat the oil in an electric deep-fat fryer). Do not overheat and do not leave hot oil unattended. Using a metal slotted spoon, lower 6 croquets into the oil and cook for 1.5 mins or until golden brown. Transfer to a baking tray lined with kitchen paper to absorb excess oil, and continue cooking the rest. Serve with the chilli jam for dipping.

Steps:

• Mash the butter, rosemary and some seasoning in a bowl. On a lightly floured surface, cut the dough into four sections (it will already be divided if you’re using ready-made pizza dough). One at a time, roll out each piece of dough to a thickness of about 4mm, keeping the pieces you’re not using covered. Use a 7cm cutter to stamp out 30-36 circles.
• Spread the rosemary butter over half the dough circles, then spread the cranberry sauce over the remaining rounds. Fold each circle in half and bring the two points together like a fortune cookie; these are the ower ‘petals’.
• Line a large baking tray with parchment. Put the cheese – in its box but with the lid removed – in the middle of the baking tray. Arrange a ring of dough petals around the box, alternating the rosemary butter and cranberry sauce fillings. Tuck the pointed ends neatly under the box. Arrange another ring of petals around the first, this time tucking the pointed ends under the row in front. Repeat with the remaining dough petals to create a neat ower pattern. Loosely cover the tray with oiled cling film and leave somewhere warm to prove for 30 mins, or until almost doubled in size. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
• Remove the cling film and slash the top of the cheese a few times. Poke in the rosemary sprigs, drizzle everything with a little oil and bake for 35-40 mins until golden brown. Leave to cool for 5 mins before serving.